Quest Giver

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"The orcs of Largashbur have been constantly besieged by giants, and are forbidden to leave their stronghold. Atub, the wise woman of the tribe, has asked me to find her a bowl of Troll Fat and a Daedra Heart so that she may contact the Daedric Lord Malacath for guidance."

Largashbur is an Orcish stronghold found near the Jerall Mountains in the south of The Rift region. As the stronghold is approached, the tribe of orcs will be engaged in battle with a giant. If Ugor, one of the orcs fighting the giant, dies when entering the stronghold, then starting the quest will be more difficult. If it is not possible to save Ugor, one of the following tactics will allow access to the stronghold:

The stronghold may still be accessed by climbing the mountainside bordering the far left side of the entrance. Upon talking to Atub, the gate will unlock. Steal any of the equipment from Ugor that is laying on the ground, thus causing the accusation of stealing, whereby the Orcs will unlock the door and come out of the stronghold. If a fine is paid at this point, entrance to the stronghold will be gained. The Orcs will unlock the doors and come out to fight any wild animals, such as bears, that attack near the gates. If the quest to find The Forgemaster's Fingers has been completed, the gates are already unlocked.

The Orcs will initially be mistrustful of outsiders. The one exception is Atub, who talks about her tribe falling on hard times. Chief Yamarz, the tribe's chief, has become weak and cursed. The giants have taken advantage of this, assailing the stronghold regularly, as well as overtaking the shrine of the Daedric Prince Malacath. Atub asks for Troll Fat and a Daedra Heart to use as an offering to Malacath, the patron Daedra of the Orsimer, in hopes that he might respond to the wise woman's prayers and guide the tribe in their time of need.

Some troll fat can be stolen from the shed with the Alchemy Lab to the right of Malacath's Shrine. The Dragonborn can also find some troll fat if they own Hjerim, in Windhelm. They can also find some inside a secret room if one opens a wardrobe downstairs. It is possible to find a Daedra heart adjacent to Kodlak Whitemane in Jorrvaskr in Whiterun (he's located downstairs). It may also be possible to find troll fat in the same room as the Daedra heart in Jorrvaskr. Two Daedra hearts can be found in the alchemy room of Nightcaller Temple during the "Waking Nightmare" quest. Troll fat is also found underneath a side table in one of the other rooms. If the College of Winterhold questline has been begun, two Daedra hearts may be obtained from Enthir every 24 hours. Another way of gaining Daedra hearts would be to collect some while fighting in Azura's Star, where Daedric enemies spawn, and their hearts can be collected to contribute to this quest. If the "Pieces of the Past" quest has been completed and Mehrunes' Razor acquired, two leveled Dremora spawn just outside of Mehrunes' Shrine and two more inside the shrine. The Dremora respawn every 10 game days, making it rather helpful for getting Daedra hearts quickly. Arcadia from Arcadia's Cauldron in Whiterun may sell Daedra hearts occasionally.

Note: If the Dragonborn fast travels back to Lagashbur after retrieving the ingredients for Atub, two dragons may spawn.

Once Atub has the ingredients, she will insist that the ritual of contacting Malacath must be observed, but care must be taken, as bumping into or hitting the altar may evoke a hostile response and a fine. She will speak to Chief Yamarz, who begrudgingly allows the ritual to occur. Malacath is displeased with Yamarz, who has allowed giants to overrun the Daedric Prince's shrine. The god demands that Yamarz bring him the giant leader's club as an offering; only then will he consider lifting the curse. Yamarz refuses to take responsibility and blames the Dragonborn for bringing this task upon him and insists that he be joined at Fallowstone Cave, which leads to Giant's Grove, the site of Malacath's shrine.

Chief Yamarz must be protected while traveling through Fallowstone Cave, located northeast of Riften, to the Giant's Grove on the other side. Cave bears and trolls could be encountered in addition to giants. While Yamarz is well-equipped with full Orcish Armor and an Orcish weapon and can handle himself well in battle, he will still find himself outmatched when fighting giants by himself. Yamarz prefers melee attacks, so it may be best to hang back and pelt the gigantic enemies with arrows or magic while being careful not to attack the Orc Chief; it is easy to accidentally hit Yamarz taking on the giants. It is possible to run ahead of Chief Yamarz, clear the cave out before he even gets there, and leave the cave. Then after fast traveling back to Lagashbur, the whole tribe will attack him, killing him, and Malacath's voice will be heard saying that giants killed him. Also, even though Atub was part of the attackers, she will still ask what happened to him.

At the Giant's Grove, Yamarz will ask the Dragonborn to retrieve the giant chieftain's hammer for him. He promises gold in return for the Dragonborn's discretion; the tribe never has to know that their chief wasn't the one to return the giant's club, Shagrol's Warhammer (if the Dragonborn refuses, Yamarz will attack the giant himself and die quickly — "This should only take a second," are Yamarz's prophetic last words — and the giant must still be defeated).

If the bribe is taken and the giant defeated for Chief Yamarz, he will then attack the Dragonborn to ensure his tribe never learns of his cowardice.

It is possible to sneak-kill the giant with a high Sneak skill, the Assassin's Blade perk, the Shrouded Gloves, and a decent dagger. Thusly armed, it's possible to climb up the rocks of the shrine and get positioned right behind the giant without it noticing.

If the fight is rather challenging, there is a small alcove that can be used for protection on the right of Malacath's shrine; though still fully exposed, the giant can't seem to attack anything in the small alcove. It will be necessary to jump over a small fire and get between the shrine and a rock, but this is the perfect spot for regenerating health. Note, however, the giant will eventually run off after realizing he can't reach his target, so killing him from this position could be quite difficult.

The Dragonborn can, after engaging combat with the giant, run back towards Yamarz and he will slay the giant himself, but he must still be killed afterwards.

Another easy alternative is a mage Dragonborn with the Impact perk. This paired with Ice Spike, Lightning Bolt or Firebolt will cause the giant to stagger, and repeated use of Duel Casting with either of these spells will prevent the giant from moving.

Regardless of which option is chosen, the quest log will only show the text for the option to kill the giant instead of letting Yamarz kill it.

If the fight against Yamarz is challenging, sometimes the giant may kill Yamarz by launching him into the sky. However, the Dragonborn must then kill the giant.

After defeating the giant, take the warhammer from his corpse, and take it to Largashbur, where Atub asks for news of Yamarz.

Malacath will speak to the remaining tribesmen, telling them of Yamarz's treachery and weakness.

Malacath gives the tribe a chance to prove themselves and appoints Gularzob as the new Chief.

The Dragonborn's worthiness is rewarded by the Daedric Prince, and instructions are given to put Shagrol's Hammer on his shrine. The hammer is transformed into Volendrung, the Daedric Prince's legendary warhammer, as the final reward.

Ogol, Ugor, and Lob will be available as followers upon completion of this quest, assuming they survived the fight with the giant.

It is possible that if the Dragonborn does not remove Volendrung from the shrine, after the quest has been completed, the player will not be able to return to claim it later in the game.

I've heard rumors there's some kind of problem in the Orc settlement of Largashbur, southwest of Riften.

Objective: Find out what's happening in Largashbur

The orcs of Largashbur are besieged by giants, and have been forbidden to leave their stronghold. Atub, the wise woman of the tribe, has asked me to find her Troll Fat and a Daedra Heart so that she may contact Malacath for guidance.

Objective: Bring Troll Fat and a Daedra Heart to Atub

Objective: Observe Atub's ritual

Malacath has spoken to his followers and expressed disappointment in them. He is angry they allowed his shrine to be desecrated, and has commanded the chieftain of Largashbur, Yamarz, to return to the shrine and reclaim it.

Objective: Speak with Yamarz

Despite being specifically instructed by Malacath to see to it himself, Yamarz wants my help in defeating the giants that have overrun Fallowstone Cave and the shrine of Malacath. He's promised to pay me in exchange for making sure he arrives there safely.

Objective: Meet Yamarz at Fallowstone Cave

Objective: Protect Yamarz

After Malacath ordered him to retake the shrine in Fallowstone Cave, Yamarz insisted that I escort him there to make sure he arrived safely. Now he has offered to pay me even more in exchange for killing the giant myself, to which I have agreed.

Objective: Defeat the giant

After escorting Yamarz to Fallowstone Cave and proving myself more worthy, Malacath has commanded me to return to Largashbur and deliver Shagrol's Hammer there.

Objective: Take Shagrol's Hammer back to Largashbur

Objective: Place Shagrol's Hammer on the shrine in Largashbur

The curse placed on the Orcs of Largashbur is lifted. The tribe's leader, Yamarz, was revealed as a shiftless weakling in Malacath's eyes, and I have redeemed his actions by defeating the giant that had taken over the shrine in Fallowstone Cave. Malacath has named Gularzob as the new chief, and has named me his new Champion.

This section contains bugs related to The Cursed Tribe. Before adding a bug to this list, consider the following:

Please reload an old save to confirm if the bug is still happening.

If the bug is still occurring, please post the bug report with the appropriate system template 360 / XB1 , PS3 / PS4 , PC / MAC , NX , depending on which platform(s) the bug has been encountered on.

Be descriptive when listing the bug and fixes, but avoid having conversations in the description and/or using first-person-anecdotes: such discussions belong on the appropriate forum board.

Click to show Bugs

It is possible that after completing the quest, all the items in containers and wardrobes (excluding Mannequins and Bookshelves) in the purchased Riften house will disappear for unknown reasons.

After putting Shagrol's Hammer on the shrine, it should be transformed into Volendrung, which will appear on the antlers of the deer skull on the shrine. However, there is a possibility that Volendrung will either drop off the antlers or not spawn at all. Make sure to look AT the antlers when activating the shrine, not downward, since Volendrung seems to spawn at the point of focus.

If Largashbur was left without taking Volendrung, upon return Volendrung may be on the floor behind the antlers where it is supposed to be.

Occasionally while looting the giant chief's body, there will be an additional Orcish Warhammer in the body as well as Shagrol's Hammer, as they share the same model, this is probably because the game put in the model of Shagrol's Hammer but didn't name it that and so put in another one.

Sometimes upon reaching Largashbur, Ugor is dead on the ground, but the glitch with everyone in the long house didn't happen. In that case, just speak to Atub, and she'll apologize for Ugor's harsh words, and start the quest that way, despite having never met Ugor.

360 If Ugor is found dead outside and the gate is locked you can climb into Largashbur by climbing the mountain to the right. (Orcs will not be hostile if "The Forgemaster's Fingers" quest has been completed.) Once inside head over to Atub up in the watchtower and speak to her. (If you choose to attack Atub from outside your follower may kill Atub.)

If looking around the shrine yields nothing, loading a previous save should cause Volendrung to spawn properly. Alternatively, just hit the altar and the stone a few times until the weapon pops out. Using the Unrelenting Force shout may also work.

360 Sometimes characters will respond as if the player has already gone through the ritual after reaching the appropriate level for the quest. Even though his people act as if he is dead, Yamarz is still alive. It is believed this happens if the player enters the compound before the quest becomes available. If this happens, the only fix is to load a save previous to entering the compound. Without loading Volendrung is unattainable. This bug, if not the cause, is confirmed.

Initiating a dialog with sleeping characters in Largashbur Longhouse will not cause them to get up and speak to you as per normal; they will continue to sleep while talking.

PS3 After starting the mission, Yamarz will start his trek to the cave, and he may be followed. As he makes his way to the cave, he might take a swim through the lake near Riften. If he does, and he is followed, the PS3 will log out of the game as if it was quit from the center PS button.

360 Atub is nowhere to be found in the longhouse or anywhere in the area; this occurred when Ugor was dead. Fix by fast travelling to the area again.

360 Characters appear to be stuck in the Longhouse and will not leave, move, or walk. Atub is missing, and Ugor is dead. Two unidentified Orc bodies are found near or in the compound. This may be fixed by attacking any orc and leaving the longhouse. Atub may then appear to attack. Simply pay the bounty, and walk to her to begin the quest.

PC When first approached upon returning, Atub is very hostile and demands to know what an outsider is doing there, as if she had no recollection of previous events. Talking to her jogs her memory.

PC If all map markers have been enabled via console and this quest has not been started, fast travel to Giant's Grove is ill-advised. It will not be possible to fast travel out, and "no clip" will have to be used to get through a blocked wall to gain entrance to Fallowstone Cave in order to get back to Skyrim. And if the giant is killed and Shagrol's Hammer taken before starting the quest, the quest will start. If the quest is started in this way, it will break the quest and make it impossible to complete without using the console.

PS3 If Yamarz is followed, he will take the path through Riften. The game may freeze if the lake is entered instead of entering Riften.

360 PS3 Yamarz may not be in the cave if he is immediately followed in; instead he will be outside not moving, only giving short responses.

360 Sometimes inside the cave the bears get stuck in the ground, and cannot be killed. This stops any progression towards the grove. This can be fixed by a reload or using the Animal Allegiance shout or the Unrelenting Force (level 3) shout to get the animal unstuck.

After the battle between the Orcs and the giant ensues, upon first approaching Largashbur, Atub may not open the front gate and stand silently above the stronghold's wall. There is no way to speak to her from outside. A known way to resolve this glitch is to follow the fence toward the cliff wall on the right side. There is a spot where you can repeatedly jump until over the wall. The orcs will not be hostile, and Atub can then be approached and spoken to. This bug may occur if Ugor is killed by the giant, and hence Ugor and Atub's conversation prior to opening the front gates cannot commence. Another fix is to hit Atub with an attack, and when she comes down, pay the bounty to enter freely.

Once the giant at Giant's Grove is killed, it is sometimes only possible to loot it for the few seconds before Malacath begins to speak. This makes it impossible to obtain the giant's hammer and complete the quest. It is possible that this occurs because Yamarz was killed by the giant before the giant was killed.

If Ugor and the other Orcs are observed fighting the giant, and the observer leaves, all of the Orc guards and Ugor will be dead upon the observer's return.

PS3 Sometimes no one is outside to start the quest. There is an opening in the gate near the goats. Shoot an arrow at a passing goat, and Atub will come out. Also, you can use Unrelenting Force level 3 on Atub and just pay the 40 gold fine. (PC, 360 confirmed). If Yamarz is hostile, and the giant is killed for him at Giant's Grove, upon returning to Largashbur and completing the quest, Yamarz might return to the longhouse, and his dialogue will be the same as during the quest (PS3 confirmed).

PC It may be necessary to clear the cave without Yamarz because he will not enter the cave.

PC When exiting Fallowstone Cave to Giant's Grove, Yamarz may have vanished. The quest marker will be far to the east off the borders of the map, and using console commands to move to Yamarz's location or move him to back to Largashbur will not work. The quest can still be completed, however. Kill the giant and take its hammer back to Atub, and the dialogue will proceed as though Yamarz fought the giant and was killed. While the quest will still complete this way, the objective "protect Yamarz" will still be unfulfilled in the quest entry.

PC Even if the giant is fought on Yamarz's behalf, Yamarz can somehow become involved in the fight. The giant can be killed, and Yamarz will then attack the Dragonborn; however, when his health reaches 0, he will crouch down, then get back up with full health and cannot be killed, even if the hammer is picked up, or using the "kill" console command. To fix this use the console command "resetAI 3bc26" (3bc26 being Yamarz' base ID, his reference ID displayed on screen will not work)

If Yamarz and the giant end up in a place where the giant's AI will not swing at Yamarz, it is possible for Yamarz to successfully kill the giant by himself. Since this was intended to be impossible, the game will believe that the Dragonborn has killed it; Yamarz will not return to the place he asked the Dragonborn to wait, and upon approach, he will speak as if the Dragonborn killed the giant and attack the Dragonborn.

PS3 PC Sometimes when Atub is given the ingredients she won't start the ritual. Reload to fix the problem. (On PC - if reloading does not help) A reason for this bug might be that Atub is waiting for a conversation with Ugor, while Ugor is missing from the camp (Ugor can be found on top of the mountain behind the camp, if player teleports to her). To teleport Ugor back to the camp, stand inside the camp and use: "prid 00019e1b" and then "moveto player" (without the quotation marks) this will start the initial conversation between Ugor and Atub and after that Atub will also start the ritual.

360 If the chief is left in the cave, he is still thought to be dead but will show up at Largashbur as if nothing had happened.

Attacking Yamarz will cause him to attack once no other enemies are present. It will be necessary to load from a save that was before he was hit, otherwise he won't stop attacking. It is still possible to continue through the quest and acquire the warhammer without loading from a prior save. If this is done, and Yamarz is left in an area that needs a loading screen to get back to (i.e., going into Giant's Grove after being attacked by Yamarz in the previous area) then he will become unkillable and will not stop attacking. Once the warhammer is obtained, the log says to return it to the tribe like normal, but the quest marker to protect Yamarz never goes away. (Edit: After completing the quest, the quest marker disappears, but the quest in the completed section indicates Yamarz wasn't protected.)

PS3 It may be possible that after killing the giant Atub spawns dead and without clothes for unknown reasons.

Sometimes shooting the goat through the hole in the fence will only cause an attack by Atub with ice spikes from the guard tower. She will not always come down and open the door.

A never-ending loading screen may be encountered when trying to fast travel to Largashbur.

If you do the "The Cursed Tribe" before "The Forgemaster's Fingers", you will automatically become blood-kin (though it is not mentioned) and be unable to do the quest "The Forgemaster's Fingers". Furthermore, though treated as blood-kin, the Dragonborn allowed into Orc settlements via the Malacath quest (The Cursed Tribe) are not really blood-kin and so cannot invest in Orc businesses.

360 Upon reaching Giant's Grove, if the Dragonborn tells Yamarz to do his own work and Yamarz runs off to kill the giant, a strange glitch may occur where Yamarz appears to be running in slow motion on the spot in front of the giant. Once Yamarz fixes himself and begins behaving normally, the giant will stare at Yamarz and not attack anybody in the area, including the Dragonborn (and their follower if applicable). If Yamarz is left to kill the giant, he does so slowly. However when the giant is dead, Yamarz acts as if the Dragonborn killed the giant and becomes hostile. After the Dragonborn kills Yamarz, Malacath remarks that "the giants took care of Yamarz, and you took care of the giants" indicating that Malacath thinks the giant killed Yamarz, and the Dragonborn killed the giant. Shagrol's Hammer can still be obtained and then transformed into Volendrung.